


These Words

by Kumikomanami



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, F/F, F/M, M/M, Multi, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-20
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2020-09-18 22:07:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20320255
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumikomanami/pseuds/Kumikomanami
Summary: For a creative writing project, Marinette is given a notebook and decides to write her thoughts and feelings in it. What happens when other students gets their hands on it? They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well, it took a notebook and a class to come together and help Adrien Agreste realize he was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. (NO POWER AU)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> How I became obsessed with this show, I have no idea. I blame all the fanfics and tumblr. Now it was time for me to write one. Enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> For a creative writing project, Marinette is given a notebook and decides to write her thoughts and feelings in it. What happens when other students gets their hands on it? They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well, it took a notebook and a class to come together and help Adrien Agreste realize he was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. (NO POWER AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miraculous Ladybug © Thomas Astruc

**These Words**

.

.

.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng came walking into her classroom to see her best friend Alya waving at her from their seats.

“Morning!” Marinette greeted as she passed by the two boys in front of her.

“Yo!” Nino waved.

“Good morning Marinette!” Adrien smiled at her. 

“G-Good morning!” She was proud of herself for not freezing up. She immediately went to her seat as Alysa nudged her side.

“Nice job, Marinette!” She winked.

The blue haired girl only sighed as she mentally patted herself on the back. The four of them had become close throughout the year. Especially with Alya and Nino somewhat having something going on between them. That had given Marinette the chance to really get to know Adrien and realized that she shouldn’t be holding him up on a pedestal and he was just as normal as everyone else. It still didn’t help when he smiled at her and her heart felt like it would burst. Alya has been pushing her for months to go and confess but she didn’t want to ruin the friendship her and Adrien had. With graduation coming up end of the year, she decided it was best that she didn’t say anything.

Looking around the class, she thought back on her classmates and what they went through the years. Ivan and Mylène had finally gotten together. In fact, Marinette had a hunch that Rose and Juleka did as well but they were keeping it low-key. Alix and Kim’s competition with each other sparked something else between them but no one called them out on it. Nathaniel had confessed his love to her after Chloé showed his drawings to the class of her. She drew the line for them and thankfully he was respectful of it and they were still friends. They also got a new student named Lila who ended up being worse than Chloé. Lila and Chloé both fought for the attention. It got worse when Adrien was involved. There was no doubt that Chloe was obsessed with the boy. How much of it was just her being possessive and how much of it were her true feelings, no one ever knew. It didn’t help that Lila decided to jump on the Adrien-love train the moment she entered the school and started to spread lies. That was another reason Marinette was afraid to let her feelings for Adrien known. As if she needed more drama before graduation and to get into that mess.

“Good morning class!” Ms. Bustier greeted as she walked in with a box. This got everyone’s attention as they settled down in their seats and looked to the front. “It’s been a wonderful three years with you all. I know a few of you joined us from second year and so forth, but we have been able to make wonderful memories together. I decided as your last school project with me, you would be doing what we call creative writing. I will be passing out notebooks to each of you. You will be in charge of what you want to write in this notebook. Whether it is poetry, story telling, etc., it is all up to you. You have 3 months to fill up this notebook. At the end of the year, you will be able to show your notebook if you’d like to with the class.” As Ms. Bustier passed the notebooks around, the class broke into conversation about the project.

“I’ll be writing about my adventures around the world!” Lila exclaimed.

“I would love to write a love story!” Rose said with a happy sigh.

“To keep things more private until the end…” Ms. Bustier spoke once more. “You will all be using pen-names. Do not write your real name on these.”

* * *

Marinette stared at the notebook in front of her. What name should she write on her book? Marinette was on her balcony as she looked around her view for inspiration.

Seamstress? 

No, that was too obvious.

Marionette?

The bluenette groaned. Might as well put her real name.

Marinette sighed as she closed her eyes and relaxed on her chair. The smell of bread from her parents’ bakery calmed her down. She opened her eyes when she felt something land on her nose. Looking down was a small little bug, red with small black dots. Letting a smile grace her face, Marinette picked up her pen and started to write.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

** _LADYBUG_ **

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class _

.

.

.

Satisfied with the name, Marinette opened the book and began to let the ink of her pen flow across the paper.

* * *

A month had passed as Marinette and Alya sat on a bench during break.

“How has the notebook project been going for you, girl?” Alya asked as she took hers out.

Marinette smiled at the name that was written on the front cover. Lady Wifi. What a perfect pen-name for her best friend. That girl was always on her phone.

“It’s been good. I’m actually almost done with my notebook.” Alya snapped her head so fast that Marinette was afraid her friend was going to get a whiplash.

“What?! Already?” Alya asked shocked.

“I had a lot to write about.” Marinette pouted as her cheeks colored with embarrassment. 

“Obviously! Do you mind if I read an entry? You can read mine! I just finished writing an entry earlier today.” 

“We’re supposed to wait until the end of the year.”

“Oh Mari, please!” Alya pulled her best puppy eyes as Marinette gave her friend a side-eye glance before sighing and handing her book over. Alya squealed as she handed Marinette hers.

Marinette skimmed over the first page of Alya’s book. Her entries sounded like reports of things her friend had heard or seen. Flipping to the last page written, Marinette began to read.

.

.

.

_ May 10_

_ Lady Wifi here! _

_ It’s been a month since we were given this notebook and boy, do I have news for you! _

_ Walking to school, I saw Lê Chiến Kim and Alix Kubdel arguing outside campus when Kim’s best friend, Max Kanté was pushed by Chloé Bourgeois and Lila Rossi, who were arguing on their way up the stairs. This had caused Max to bump into Kim who then crashed lips with Alix! The girl had turned as pink as her hair as she ran away. Poor Kim was left to stand there as he raised a hand to his lips. Has the line between friendly rivals and lovers finally been crossed? We shall see where the rest of the school year takes us. Maybe it’s not too late to be honest with your feelings, especially with graduation coming up. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

“Omg! Alya!” Marinette gasped.

“I know my writing is amazing!” Alya grinned as she went and read one of Marinette’s entries.

.

.

.

April 3

_ It’s been raining again in Paris. _

_ The rain reminds me of the day he entered my life. He had given me his umbrella. At that moment, I saw the kindness in his heart. With a thunderclap, it was love at first sight. These feelings have grown since then. They may never reach him and I feel like it will be all the best that I give up on him. I’m comfortable with what we have now. I’m scared what I may tell him will ruin all of it. So please, heart of mine, learn to forget and move on. _

_ With love, Ladybug _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Alya slowly lifted her head and peeked at her friend who continued to read some of her entries. The lump in her throat was hard to swallow as her heart felt for the girl next to her. What must it feel like to be so close to the person you love, yet so far? Yeah, her and Nino weren’t official, but she knew there was something. Yet, for Marinette…

Alya closed the book and placed it on her lap as she looked across the area and saw the boy that captured her friend’s heart. He was laughing with Nino. The boys must have noticed her staring because they went and walked up to her and Marinette.

Nino took a seat next to her, but all Alya could do was watch Marinette give Adrien a shy smile who talked about Jagged Stone’s new song. 

“Uh oh.” Nino spoke quietly next to her as he secretly laced his right hand with her left. “I don’t like the look you have in your eye.” Nino watched as a fox like smile appeared on the girl’s face.

“Time to do some magic…” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the third year at Collège Françoise Dupont and graduation is just around the corner. For a creative writing project, Ms. Bustier gives the students notebooks. Marinette decides to write her thoughts and feelings in hers. What happens when the other students get their hands on it? They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well, it took a notebook and a class to come together and help Adrien Agreste realize he was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. (No power au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the lovely reviews and support with this story. Like I stated in the last chapter, this is my first time writing a story for Miraculous Ladybug and I’m glad you all liked the previous chapter. I’ve been so nervous after uploading the chapter. Just a reminder that, this is an alternate universe where they do not have powers! So far Alya and Marinette are the only ones who know each other’s pen names, Lady Wifi and Ladybug, respectively. Let’s see what Alya had planned for Marinette and Adrien. The story will start off with Adrien’s perspective of the first chapter!
> 
> Miraculous Ladybug © Thomas Astruc

**These Words**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**March 28**

Adrien’s green eyes shined brightly as he was handed his notebook from Ms. Bustier. A final school project! He thought about how he would do his creative writing project. Poetry? Story-telling? Oh, or even better, puns? He looked around the class to see everyone was trying to figure out what to do. He tuned out Lila who started to brag about what she would write about. He looked over at Nino to see him writing something on the front of his book.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

** _DJ Bubbler_ **

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Pen names huh?

The bell rang signaling that it was the end of school.

“I gotta go! Natalie and Gorilla is probably waiting for me in the front now. I have Chinese.” Adrien announced to Nino and the girls behind him.

“Ever the busy man.” Alya joked as Marinette shyly waved goodbye behind her. “We’re graduating in June! Can’t your dad give you a break to concentrate on school?” 

Adrien just chuckled as he gave his friends an apologetic grin.

“Text me when you’re done!” Nino nodded. “We all gotta plan for the school festival in June as well!”

Adrien nodded as he walked out of the room. School festival. That’s right. Marinette and Alya were the class representative and deputy, respectively. For the last year, they came up with an idea to throw a festival for the graduating class, which everyone agreed to. Nino was asked to DJ as Marinette’s and Alya’s parents would help provide food. Adrien offered to help with finances, which Chloe agreed to help as well. That was going to be held in June, once exams were over. Holding the notebook close to him, he spotted the car as Gorilla came out and opened the door for him.

“Hey Natalie!” Adrien greeted with a smile. Natalie nodded as she eyed the notebook he was holding.

“It’s a class project.” Adrien said as he pulled out a pen and went back to thinking of his pen name. 

A couple minutes passed when Gorilla pressed on the brakes quickly. Adrien felt himself go forward as Natalie quickly stuck out her right hand to hold him back to his seat.

“What happened?!” Natalie frowned as she fixed her glasses.

Adrien looked ahead to see a black cat in front of their car, just sitting on the street and licking its paw. The cat’s green eyes shined mischievously before meowing and continuing on its path across the street.

Natalie sighed as Gorilla continued to drive home for today’s lesson. Adrien continued to watch the cat until he couldn’t anymore. Sitting back down on his seat, he stared at the front of his notebook and smiled. With a click of his pen, he began to write.

Natalie peeked over to see what caught the young Agreste’s attention. Reading the front of the notebook he held, she raised an eyebrow.

_ This notebook belongs to _

** _Chat Noir_ **

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class _

* * *

**April 29**

A month had passed since Ms. Bustier had given the class their notebook project. Their teacher got called outside the hallway, which allowed the class free time to talk about their project and the festival. Marinette was soon called out to help Ms. Bustier. Lunch was about to start in five minutes, so the class was getting anxious. Alya continued to stare at Adrien as he was talking to Nino about a new anime he got into. She soon turned her attention to her best friend’s bag that lay innocently next to her. Her hazel eyes couldn’t stop staring at the notebook that was peeping out of the bag.

This was all for Marinette’s own good. That girl was as shy as it comes and if Alya left things how it was going, her friend was going to graduate without telling Adrien how she felt! As if she was going to let that happen. Nino had caught her looking at Marinette’s bag and gave her a look. Yesterday, when she brought up her plan, Nino didn’t think it would be a good idea until he had read the page she had. The two agreed it would be a good idea to make a copy of Marinette’s entries and send one to Adrien each day. 

The bell rang and Marinette still hadn’t come back to the class. Alya was about to text her when her phone went off. Her best friend was asking her to take her bag and wait for her at lunch. She was still stuck helping Mr. Bustier. Alya’s heart began to beat a little faster. It was like the gods were telling her to carrying on with her plan. Quickly grabbing her and Marinette’s bag, Alya quickly sprinted to the library and found the photocopier that was hidden in the back.

Alya was 10 entries in when someone tapped on her shoulder. Jumping in surprise, she quickly turned around to see Rose and Juleka.

“W-What are you guys doing here?” Alya said as she tried to hide Marinette’s book and her copied papers behind her. In her hurry, she dropped a couple pages as Rose quickly went to help pick them up. Alya’s eyes widened as she saw Rose curiously look at a page.

“They’re not mine!” Alya blurted out before covering her mouth. Juleka raised an eyebrow before peeking over Rose’s shoulder. 

“Are these entries about unrequited love?!” Rose asked as she became teary-eyed. 

“If these aren’t yours, whose are they?” Juleka questioned. “And why are you making copies?”

Alya sighed before looking around and grabbing the two girls closer to her. “They’re Marinette’s.” she soon caught them up to speed with the situation.

“She’s giving up?” Rose gasped. “They would be so cute together!”

“But Adrien is oblivious to her feelings.” Juleka frowned.

Alya could only nod her head as she placed Marinette’s book back in her bag. “I was going to place one of these entries on Adrien’s desk and hoped he would get the hint.”

“We shouldn’t be forcing this.” Juleka shook her head. Alya watched as the dark girl soon looked at Rose. The smaller girl didn’t notice as she was reading more of Marinette’s papers. “If Marinette is not ready to tell her feelings to the Adrien, we should just let it be. If we rush things too quickly, this could all blow up in our face. Do you know if Adrien has feelings for her? If Marinette tells him and he doesn’t, she could lose that precious friendship with him. I couldn’t—she couldn’t do that, unless its positive that Adrien does like her back.”

“Well like you said, the poor boy is oblivious. We’re just pushing them into the right direction. There no other girl that he’s close to like he is with Marinette. It’s there. Trust me!” Alya tried to convince her friends.

“I’m in!” Rose smiled. “We can’t let a love die without giving it a try.” 

“I’ll help as well then. Three heads are better than two.” Juleka sighed.

“Nino is in on this as well.” Alya smiled. “Thank you. We have a plan for tomorrow. I’ll text you the deets!”

Getting a text from Marinette, Alya bid the two girls goodbye and left the library.

* * *

**April 30**

Adrien arrived to school early after having Nino text him saying that he had something to show him before class. Passing by the art room, he wasn’t surprise to see Nathaniel drawing away. At least he wasn’t the only one earlier for school. The young Agreste was surprised when he arrived to an empty classroom and no Nino. Setting his things down by his desk, he noticed a folded piece of paper.

Holding the paper, he sat down on his desk and unfolded it.

Green eyes widened when he realized this looked like an entry from someone’s creative writing project.

.

.

.

**March 29**

_ March is coming to an end and so is our time at Collège Françoise Dupont. _

_ This project allowed me to think back on my years at this school and the friendships and memories I made with people in this class. I will finally be able to write my thoughts and feelings that I’ve been holding on for so long. It allows me to speak my mind and heart, something I wouldn’t be able to do actually do in person. _

_ I hope this will make me freer once I finish this notebook. _

_ With love, Ladybug _

.

.

.

Adrien stared at the paper before folding it back up. For some reason, those words spoke to him. He wished he could be freer with his feelings and thoughts as well. Someone in this class could relate to him, but who? 

“Ladybug, huh?” He spoke aloud. But why would this “Ladybug” put this on his desk? Did this person want him to find it? He went to ponder more about it until Nino came rushing into the class.

“Yo, sorry man! I got caught up with Marinette. I went to the bakery to pick up some sweet treats for breakfast. Fresh out of the oven!” Nino chuckled as he handed his blond friend one.

“Thanks!” Adrien said as he quickly placed the paper in his bag. “So what did you want to show me?”

“Check out this new song I created. It’s lit!” Nino grinned as he offered his headphones to his friend. While Adrien got distracted listening, Nino discreetly went to text someone.

**‘He read it.’**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was chapter 2! Thank you all again so much for reading and reviewing. I’m glad so many enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Alya’s plan has kicked off. Let’s see what happens next on my next installment. Until next time!


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the third year at Collège Françoise Dupont and graduation is just around the corner. For a creative writing project, Ms. Bustier gives the students notebooks. Marinette decides to write her thoughts and feelings in hers. What happens when the other students get their hands on it? They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well, it took a notebook and a class to come together and help Adrien Agreste realize he was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. (No power au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miraculous Ladybug © Thomas Astruc

**These Words**

**.**

**.**

**.**

**April 30**

Max Kanté prided himself with his intelligence, being excellent at knowing facts, statistics, and calculations. So it didn’t go passed his observation when he passed by the classroom before class to see Alya place a paper on Adrien’s desk.

A love note?

Impossible. There was something going on between her and Nino. 

Maybe the letter was from Marinette.

Yes, that seemed to be the more reasonable idea. You had to be blind to not see that the baker’s daughter was in love with the model, unless you were the model himself.

Walking away from the room, he shook his head and went to see if Kim or Alix were here before he went to the library. Clutching onto his notebook for the class project, he sighed. Ever since those two accidentally kissed a couple days ago, things have been awkward between them, making hanging out with them awkward. Walking to the courtyard, he could see Alix practicing rollerblading. With it being early in the morning, the courtyard was empty enough for her to do so. 

“I think Alya came up with an idea to help get Marinette and Adrien together.” Max announced, getting her attention. His words caused his pink-haired friend to stop and raise an eyebrow at him.

“She’s been doing that for years and getting no results.” Alix said as she looked at him in doubt.

“If my calculations are correct, the chances of Adrien finally noticing Marinette’s feelings are higher this year, especially with the school festival coming up. That could help add some romantic vibes.” Max said as he pushed his glasses up with his right middle finger. At his last words, Alix’s cheeks began to match her hair. 

“W-whatever.” She said putting on a front. “The girls and I have been planning forever to get the two together. It would be about time.”

“What would be about time?” A new voice piped in. 

The two turned around to see their tall friend walking up to them.

“Good morning Kim.” Max greeted as Alix turned to look at her roller blades. Her cheeks a little pinker.

“We’re talking about Marinette and Adrien.” Alix added as she filled him in on what was going on. 

“You and the girls have been trying to do that forever. What makes Alya’s new plan different?”

“He said it might work this time around.” Alix said as she bent down to start taking her blades off.

“Marinette can’t even talk to the guy without stuttering and blushing. It’s not happening.”

“As if.” Alix challenged as she placed her hands on her hips. Her roller blades lay next to her feet. “This time it will work. They’ll get together by the end of the school year.”

“Wanna bet?” Kim smirked as Alix flushed again. Max rolled his eyes and took the moment to walk away and headed to the library. Leave it for those two to only be able to talk normally when competing against each other. Finding a nice spot to himself, he sat down and opened his notebook and began to write.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

_ GAMER _

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

** _April 30_ **

_ School hasn’t even started yet and things are beginning to get interesting. _

_ I caught Alya leaving a note on Adrien’s desk, most likely in a scheme to get Adrien to realize Marinette’s feelings. I wonder if I should get in touch with Alya to see if she could work her magic on my two oblivious friends as well. With the last year at College Francoise Dupont coming up, I’m 90% certain that things will change for the class. How? I’m not sure. We are talking about people’s feelings here. I just hope this doesn’t end up with people getting hurt. The game of love is quite a gamble. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Satisfied with his entry, Max closed his book and looked at his watch for the time. With only fifteen minutes before class start, he gathered his things and began to head to class. Turning the corner, he had bumped into someone, his glasses falling to the ground in the process. Now things were blurry for him. Bending down, he began moving his hands around to feel for his glasses. He felt it and put it on. Things still weren’t clear. The sound of someone giggling surprised him.

“Whoops, looks like we picked up the wrong glasses. Sorry. I should have seen where I was going.” A familiar voice said. Small hands grabbed the glasses off his face and replaced it with his own. Putting his glasses on, he was surprised to see Sabrina helping gather his things. She gave him a small smile before tucking some hair behind her ear.

“I wasn’t aware of my surround. I apologize.” Max said as he adjusted his glasses and grabbed his bag from her.

“I wasn’t paying attention either.” Sabrina asked as the two of them got up. “You looked funny with my glasses on.” She finished with a small smile.

Max didn’t know why his heart started to beat a bit faster. He opened his mouth to say something before Sabrina’s phone went off.

“Hey Chloe!” Sabrina said. There was a pause. “Y-Yes of course! I’m on my way!” She hung up and began to run down the hallway. Before she turned the corner, she paused as she turned around and waved. “I’ll see you in class Max!” 

Max stood in the middle of the hallway before he grabbed his notebook and opened it to his recent post and added one last sentence. Heat moved up to his cheeks.

.

.

.

** _April 30_ **

_ School hasn’t even started yet and things are beginning to get interesting. _

_ I caught Alya leaving a note on Adrien’s desk, most likely in a scheme to get Adrien to realize Marinette’s feelings. I wonder if I should get in touch with Alya to see if she could work her magic on my two oblivious friends as well. With the last year at College Francoise Dupont coming up, I’m 90% certain that things will change for the class. How? I’m not sure. We are talking about people’s feelings here. I just hope this doesn’t end up with people getting hurt. The game of love is quite a gamble. _

_ The chances of me falling in love had just moved up 50% _

* * *

Marinette bursted into the classroom as she made it to her desk. Looking to the clock in the classroom, she had five minutes before the bell rang. She was not late! It seemed like everyone was surprised that she made it in time too since they were all staring at her.

“I thought I was gonna be late! I stayed up working on flyer for the festival and before I knew it, I had fifteen minutes to get ready and head over.” Marinette sighed as she rested her head on her desk.

“Well it shows.” Alya smirked. “You didn’t even do your hair this morning.” 

Marinette was confused until she brought her hand up to her hair and realized that her hair wasn’t in their regular pig tails. Instead, it was loosely down. This got the attention of the boys in front of them.

“Oh yeah, dude. I haven’t seen your hair down in years!” Nino commented.

“Your hair looks nice, Marinette!” Adrien said with a smile.

Marinette froze as her body felt like her body was shutting down. Adrien’s smile was just too pure for this world. She felt Alya nudge her foot to get her attention back.

“Y-You thanks much very. I mean, t-thanks much very you. T-Thanks!” Marinette was able to say as her cheeks super hot.

Adrien gave her another smile before turning around. 

“I can’t…” Marinette muttered as she rested her head on the desk again. Alya sighed as she rubbed her friend’s back. The bell rang as Ms. Bustier allowed them class time to get the festival planned. 

“Alright everyone! So the school festival is coming up. We’re going to need to figure out performances, decorations, food, and all that jazz.” Alya announced.

“We can help plan decorations!” Rose said raising both Juleka’s hand and her own up in the air.

“I’ll help too.” Mylene smiled as the girls high-fived each other. Ivan nodded his head signaling he’d help as well.

“Okay, I’ll have you four for decorations. Nathanael is good with art so he can help be in charge, if that’s okay with you.”

Nathanael blushed at the compliment before nodded. “I wouldn’t mind.” He answered. Marinette smiled as she wrote it down in a notebook. “Alya and I will have food covered with our parents and the help of Adrien and Chloe financing it. So that’s taken care of. What about performances?”

“I can dj!” Nino pitched in.

“My brother can come in and play the guitar.” Jukela offered. "As well as our band."

“Is he good?” Ms. Bustier asked. “We would need him to come in and play for us. Kind of like an audition. We can hold it after school on friday. That will give everyone a week to get prepared.” Juleka nodded as she pulled out her phone to text her brother.

“I can sing!” Lila smiled as she stood up. “I used to do a lot of sin-”

“Whatever!” Chloe interrupted as she was looking at her nails. Lila glared at her before sitting back down. “My dad can help donate money to the school. So just let me know what you guys need.”

Everyone was surprised by the generous offer by the blonde and it wasn’t oblivious to her. “What? It’s the first school festival and our last year. If we’re going to have one, it better be one to remember. I’ll be in charge of the decorations. Got a problem with that, Kurtzberg?” 

“That’s really nice of your Chloe!” Ms. Bustier interrupted as she clapped her hands together, causing Chloe to blush in embarrassment. “Since class is almost over, I just want to check in and see how your projects are coming along. We have two more months before the notebooks are due. Remember to keep these to yourself or at least keep your pennames a secret.” 

Marinette and Alya looked at each other sheepishly before sharing a secret smile at each other. Alya soon looked over to the blonde boy in front of her as she noticed him holding the note she left on his desk this morning. She had started his curiosity. Now all she had to do was slowly lead his attention to her best friend. Before they all know it, they’ll get married and have kids calling her Aunt Alya! She sighed happily, grabbing the attention of Nino in front of her. The Moroccan boy raised an eyebrow before shaking his head and smiling at her. Alya fought the blush off her face as she returned the smile.

And maybe in the future, Marinette and Adrien’s kids will be calling him Uncle Nino along with her. 

* * *

Something was up.

It was break time and Marinette narrowed her eyes. Sitting on the bench with her was Adrien who was enjoying his lunch. Alya had told her to wait for her here before she took off with Nino, Rose, and Juleka. That had been ten minutes ago. To top it off, Max, Alix, and Kim were hanging out not too far from her and staring.

Something was definitely up.

“How’s your project coming along?” Adrien’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts as she looked up at her crush.

“I-It’s going well.” Marinette answered as her face began to feel warm. “I-I’m about finished.”

“Whoa! Already?” Adrien beamed. “You never cease to amaze me.”

“Um.. no, you never amaze to cease me either. I mean, I’m the one that amazes me. I mean, I had a lot of time, that’s all.” Marinette wanted the ground to open up and swallow her. Why was it so hard to talk to him? Adrien’s smile grew even more. 

Oh yeah, that’s why.

“That’s true.” Adrien said as he looked up towards the sky. “With my busy schedule, I barely have time to write things down or even just hang out with people. That’s why I’m glad I was able to go to school here and make good friends like you.”

Marinette felt a tug at her heart. “M-Me too.” Marinette said as she felt a lump in her throat. “I-I’m lucky to be able to be friends with you.”

“What do you think of doing after we graduate?” The blond soon looked back to her. 

“D-Designing!” 

“I should have known.” Adrien laughed. “You really are talented. You’ve even impressed my father with your hat a few years back.”

“Sorry about the feathers. I never knew you were allergic to them and you had to model in it.” Marinette felt her heart beat faster as she spoke. She didn’t stutter and it seemed that Adrien noticed because he continued the conversation as he turned to face her properly.

“I don’t think I want to continue modeling in the future.” Adrien confessed, shocking the girl next to him. 

“B-But you’re good at modeling!” Marinette exclaimed. 

“It’s what my dad wanted me to be, not what I want to be. I want a job that will allow me to be home and spend time with family.”

“Oh. I-I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Adrien quickly said as he nudged her gently with his elbow. He gave her a reassuring smile as he placed a hand on her shoulder. “In fact, I should be thanking you. I haven’t been able to bring this up with anyone, not even Nino. With you, it’s easy to talk. You really became one of my great friends. Even with graduation around the corner, you better keep in touch.”

Marinette closed her eyes as she tried to hold in the tears that were forming. Just a friend huh? Maybe this was a sign to let her love for him go.

“Adrikins!” A voice said pulling Marinette away from her thoughts. Looking up, she saw Chloe and Sabrina walking up to them. Chloe narrowed her eyes at the sight of them sitting next to each other.

“Hey Chloe!” Adrien greeted. The blonde forced a smile in response as she fixed a golden bee comb in her hair. 

“You must check out the ideas I have for the decorations! Since you and I will help finance this festival, I will need your opinions. Come!” Marinette watched as Chloe grabbed Adrien’s hand and pulled him away from the bench. She soon wrapped her arms around right arm and began to walk and carry on her conversation.

As his childhood friend pulled him, Adrien looked back to see Marinette smile at him and gave him a small wave goodbye. He waved goodbye as well, sending her an apologetic smile before giving his attention to the shorter blonde.

Sabrina had also turned to look back at the dark haired girl and frowned. That smile was so forced. She didn’t have to sit down next to them to see that Adrien had said something to hurt Marinette before they came. She was trying to play it off. She was surprised to see Chloe walk faster towards the pair, but her attention wasn’t on Adrien like usual, but on Marinette. Had Chloe noticed the hurt look on Marinette as well? Before she would ponder on it more, Chloe had grabbed Adrien and walked away with him. Sabrina pulled out her phone to text someone before she ran to catch up with the pair. 

* * *

Alya sighed as she finally finished printing out the rest of Marinette’s notebook out at the library. Nino, Rose, and Juleka was helping fold everything and numbering it.

“Now I’m starting to second guess this whole thing.” Nino frowned. “What if this backfires on us?”

“Adrien just needs a push. It’s there! He’s just too oblivious to realize that.”

“So what is your idea with these notes?” Juleka asked.

“We leave these for Adrien to read and bring his attention to see Marinette as more than a friend. And what a better way than the festival. We can have these two go together and then boom! Romance!”

“How romantic!” Rose squealed. “Dancing under the stars.” 

“But how are these notes gonna help him figure out that Ladybug is Marinette?” Nino pushed the subject again.

Before Alya could answer, her phone began to rang on the table, catching everyone attention as they looked down at it. It was a text from Sabrina.

**Sabrina Raincomprix:** _I’m not sure what happened but you need to check up on Marinette. Adrien is with Chloe and I. I think he said something to upset her before he came with us._

Everyone nodded as they rushed to gather everything and leave. On the way out, Nino and Alya had ran into Nathanael, who dropped everything on the ground. 

“Sorry!” Alya called out before rushing down the hallway.

“Alya, wait!” Nino called out as the other girls followed after her. When it came down to Marinette, Alya would run people down with no regard.

“You alright, dude?” Nino said as he began to jog down the hallway. Nathanael nodded as he waved him off to go after them. The redhead watched them curiously before shaking his head. He wondered what had them rushing out so quickly. Another notebook lying on the floor caught his attention. He picked it up and open the cover. 

_ This notebook belongs to _

_ Ladybug _

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class. _

He sighed before he went to the classroom. This had to belong to one of his classmates. He went to his seat and pulled his notebook out and began to write.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

_ Illustrator  _

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

** _April 30_ **

_ I got asked to be in charge of decorations for our school festival. I have to work alongside with Chloe for this. I’m not sure if that’s gonna be easy. She definitely became a bit nicer recently but still. Marinette believed I could do this so I gonna do my best. _

_ Speaking of Marinette, I’m happy to announce that my feeling for her have gone away. I still think she’s amazing but I have come to terms with my feelings. I should be thankful that I have her as a wonderful friend. Besides, she’s still in love with Adrien. I can’t get in the way of that. Wishing her the best of luck. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Happy with his work, Nathanael began to doodle a picture of Marinette and himself smiling happily. Closing his book, he sighed and looked at his phone. Ten minutes to go before class people should be coming back from lunch. Staring at the other notebook he found, he couldn’t help but open it and read a page.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

_ Ladybug _

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

**April 15**

_ I don’t know if it’s because it’s the end of the year and we’re about to graduate but I decided to be nice to Chloe and be a good example to her. When Chloe ruined my birthday gift for Ms. Bustier, I was so upset. Thanks to Ms. Bustier calming me down and Adrien getting upset at Chloe, she had apologized to us saying that she was upset that she had forgotten our teacher’s birthday. It seems Chloe had an issue with remembering people’s birthdays. Her mother never did and it seemed to have affected her. She’s still wrong for how she’s acted, that doesn’t excuse her one bit. But if even one person can show her how to be a good person, I’m sure she can be one herself. I mean, she’s childhood friends with Adrien who is practically an angel. That has to have some merit, right? _

_ Recently, I saw Chloe drop a hair clip that she liked and a car had ran over it. I could tell she was really upset about it. From what I could get out of Sabrina, it was a gift from her mom. I designed a bee clip in replacement for it and gifted it to her. She asked what I wanted in return, which was a typical Chloe response. However, she still took it. She tries to hide it, but I catch her wearing it at school sometimes. It’s a start. _

_ With love, Ladybug _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Nathanael remembered the birthday incident clearly. He remember seeing how distraught Marinette was when she ran out of the locker room and had passed by him. He also remember seeing the guilt in Chloe’s eyes afterwards when Adrien had gotten upset at her. That also meant this was Marinette’s notebook. He needed to stop reading it and give it back.

Well, maybe one more entry wouldn’t hurt. 

.

.

.

**April 23**

_ It’s been raining again in Paris. _

_ The rain reminds me of the day he entered my life. He had given me his umbrella. At that moment, I saw the kindness in his heart. With a thunderclap, it was love at first sight. _

_ \- _

“So please, heart of mine, learn to forget and move on?” Nathanael’s eyes widened as he jumped in his seat. Turning around, he saw Ivan and Mylene staring at him curiously. It was Mylene that had spoken up. 

“I-It’s not mine. It’s Marine-”Nathanael covered his mouth as he stopped himself from revealing the true owner of this book.

“Marinette?” Ivan asked frowning. “Why do you have her notebook? Do you still like her?”

“NO! I mean, no, not anymore. I found this in the hallway and was trying to figure out how to give it back to her without her thinking I stole it.” Nathanael sighed. 

“Wait! Is this post about Adrien?” Mylene frowned as she grabbed the notebook. “She’s giving up?”

“I didn’t get to finish reading it.” Nathanael turned red as he grabbed the book back. “Too many people have seen this. We aren’t supposed to know who each other is. We already ruined Marinette’s trust by reading it!”

“You can give it to Alya to put it back in Marinette’s bag.” Ivan offered as he signaled for the group to look up at the front. Alya had ran into the classroom, looking out of breath. 

“DO YOU HAVE IT?!” Alya almost screamed. 

The trio nodded as Alya took a deep breath. “I thought I lost it. I must have dropped it when I ran into you earlier.” She went up to them and grabbed the notebook. She saw the page they were on and frowned.

“Why do you have Marinette’s notebook?” Nathanael asked as he gave Alya a suspicious look. 

“Did you read this entry?” Not waiting for an answer, she continued. “She’s going to give up on Adrien without telling her how she feels. She can’t do that!”

“Isn’t that her choice though?” Ivan asked. “Marinette is my friend. As much as I’m rooting for her and Adrien, I don’t want her to get hurt.”

“She’s already getting hurt by not having closure. If her and Adrien work out, the whole class will be happy for them. If they don’t, I’ll be there to support her through it, but at least she’d finally get her answer instead of wondering what if.” 

“Where is Marinette anyways?” Mylene asked. She understood where Ivan was coming from but at the same time, she agreed that Marinette should just tell Adrien and get the closure she deserves.

“With Nino, something came up so he decided to stay with her as I went to look for her notebook.” Alya explained. “They should be on their way here to class.”

Juleka and Rose soon came in and took their seats. “We have the copies!” Rose exclaimed as she handed a bag full of folded paper. “It’s all numbered too in the order that you wanted.”

“We got caught, didn’t we?” Juleka sighed as she noticed the others with Alya.

“We want to help!” Mylene spoke up as she raised her hand. Ivan crossed his arms but grunted, signaling that he would help but wasn’t happy about it. 

“I’ll help as well. Marinette’s done a lot for us.” Nathanael said. “But the moment this starts to go downhill, we stop and let it go. I won’t tell Marinette.”

“Thank you.” Alya said just as the door opened and Max, Kim, and Alix came walking in.

“Are you recruiting people for your plan?” Max asked.

Alya’s eyes widened. “How do you know?!”

“I saw you leave the letter on Adrien’s desk this morning.” Fixing his glasses, he noticed the bag of letters that Rose and Juleka were holding. “And it looks like that wasn’t the only letter you plan to leave.”

“Alix and I have a bet!” Kim announced. 

Alix glared at her friend before walking over to Alya. Looking as serious as she could to the class deputy, she stuck her hand out. “We’re going to get model boy to notice Marinette no matter what!”

“I still say this is gonna blow up in our faces.” Kim shook his head. “If I win this bet, I get a trophy engraved with my name saying I’m the best. Ceremony and all by the end of the year.”

Alix rolled her eyes as she waved him off. “That means not telling Adrien and Marinette anything that will affect the bet.”

Kim smirked. “Deal!”

“If you guys are done flirting…” Alya began to say, causing the two to blush. “Let me say that this stays only with everyone in the room at this very moment, including Nino. Too many people are involved as it is. If Chloe and Lila find out what we’re doing, I swear they’re gonna sabotage this whole thing.”

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement before changing the subject to the festival next month. Adrien soon came in with Chloe and Sabrina as Chloe shared her ideas for decorations. Lila came in followed by Nino. Marinette came in last as she gave a smile to everyone. She seemed to be in better spirits. Alya watched her friend talk to Mylene. With Marinette’s back turned, Alya quickly placed the notebook back in her backpack. Chloe and Sabrina seemed to have been watching Marinette as well. When Alya’s eyes met with Chloe’s, the blonde blushed for getting caught staring at Marinette. Alya raised an eyebrow but said nothing. Chloe had been acting weird recently.

Marinette noticed her best friend staring at her as she tilted her head in confusion. “Is everything okay, Alya?”

Alya saw that Adrien and Nino had slightly turned their head to look at Alya worriedly. 

“Everything is fine.” Alya assured her as Nino went to distract Adrien with his new mixtape. “Everything is fine.” 

Marinette gave her a soft smile as she went to her seat. At that moment, Ms. Bustier came in and began the class. 

Alya continued to watch Marinette from the corner of her eye. When she had ran to Marinette during lunch, she was crying and had told her what had happened between her and Adrien during lunch. Nino decided to take her for a walk around the school to clear her head and cheer her up. Whatever Nino said, it had put Marinette in a better mood. She never wanted to see Marinette cry like that again. Hopefully, her plan worked out. For Marinette’s sake.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the third year at Collège Françoise Dupont and graduation is just around the corner. For a creative writing project, Ms. Bustier gives the students notebooks. Marinette decides to write her thoughts and feelings in hers. What happens when the other students get their hands on it? They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well, it took a notebook and a class to come together and help Adrien Agreste realize he was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. (No power AU)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miraculous Ladybug ©Thomas Astruc

**These Words**

.

.

.

** April 30 **

Chloe looked down at the golden bee hair clip in her hand. Turning it around, she saw the name “Marinette” engraved in cursive on the back.

Marinette Dupain-Cheng had given her this hair clip the beginning of April. Her mother had given her the same hair clip in passing from one of her trips back home from New York. It was her favorite gift her mother gave her. It had gotten run over by a car and broke into pieces the previous month. The feeling of distraught overwhelmed her as she left the broken pieces on the floor and cried home, passing by Marinette in the streets on the way. The whole week she felt depressed and the whole class could feel it. It had gotten so bad that even her dear sweet friend Adrien agreed to finally hang out with her after school. 

Little did she know, that same girl she’d been mean to for years, had picked up those pieces and made a perfect replica of the original hair clip. When Marinette surprised her with it the following week, of course she was suspicious. They both had issues with each other, so for her arch enemy to be nice to her had her bring her guard up. However, Marinette just smiled when she handed it to her.

.

.

.

_ “It seemed very important to you. I know it’s not the original but I’m hoping you would accept it.” _

_ “What are you up to Dupain-Cheng?” _

_ “We’re about to graduate Chloe. Isn’t it time to let this feud between us go?” _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

With those words, Marinette left her alone in the classroom with the hairpiece. It left her thinking why they didn’t like each other in the first place. It's been so long, she could barely remember the reason why. It just became a habit to be mean to her and the others since they all seemed to side with Marinette all the time. But Marinette was also the reason why her relationship with her mother had gotten better. Since then, she had tried to make an effort to try to be nice to everyone except Lila. That Italian classmate of hers annoyed her to no end with her lies and attempts to get to Adrien. 

During the last year, the class realized that Lila had lied to them when Jagged Stone had rushed to the school to look for Marinette. She just happened to be sick that day. Rose had shared that Lila was in the class and that the singer would be happy to see her. When Jagged Stone showed that he didn’t know who she was, all of Lila’s lies began to unravel to the class. It took Marinette a month to help people forgive the Italian girl, all while apologizing to their class president for not believing in her in the first place. Since then, people didn’t take Lila’s stories to heart anymore.

Chloe sighed as she placed the clip in her hair and decided to head for school early. Recently, she was starting to realize that her feelings for Adrien wasn’t as strong as it used to be. On the car ride to school, she pulled out her notebook that Ms. Bustier gave to her.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

_ QUEEN BEE _

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

** _April 30_ **

_ Love _

_ What does it mean? _

_ I can say I love the things my father buys me. _

_ I can say I love my father and mother because they’re family. _

_ I can say I love Sabrina because she’s my friend. _

_ But when I say “I love you”, what does that mean? _

_ How do you establish the feelings between loving someone as a friend, loving someone as family, and loving someone as your significant other? _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Chloe closed her notebook as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the headrest of her seat.

“Ms. Bourgeois, we have arrived.” The driver in the front said. “Your father wanted me to remind you that he will be arriving late for dinner today.”

Chloe said nothing as she got out of the car. Looking around, she didn’t see Sabrina in the front of the school. Pulling out her phone, she gave the redhead a call.

_ “Hey Chloe! _” Sabrina’s voice greeted her cheerfully.

Chloe smiled softly at the voice of her friend. This was love for a friend.

“I just made it to school and you’re not at the front. Meet me here now.” Chloe demanded. 

_ “Y-Yes, of course! I’m on my way!” _ Sabrina said before she ended the call.

Another car pulled up to the front of the school. Chloe knew that car anywhere. A familiar tuff of golden blonde hair popped out.

“Adrikins!” Chloe greeted as she ran to hug his arm. Her heart wasn’t beating fast nor was her stomach feeling like she had butterflies. However, she still had a warm feeling spread through her.

“Hey Chloe!” Adrien greeted back. “I like the clip on your hair.”

“Well of course, I only wear the best!” Chloe smirked as she whipped her ponytail behind her. Adrien opened his mouth to say something but stopped when his eyes widened.

“I forgot I had to meet Nino. I’ll see you later.” Adrian waved before rushing up the school steps.

* * *

Chloe barely paid attention in class until Marinette brought up her name during the festival planning. All she got was just that Kurtzberg was in charge of decor and her and Adrien would help financially. She heard Lila about to talk herself up again, so she decided it would be a good time to speak up.

“Whatever!” She said as she tried to look disinterested by looking at her nails. “My dad can help donate money to the school. So just let me know what you guys need.” She could feel everyone look at her surprised. “What? It’s the first school festival and our last year. If we’re going to have one, it better be one to remember. I’ll be in charge of the decorations. Got a problem with that, Kurtzberg?” 

Nathaniel’s teal eyes looked up at her and she felt a weird heat begin to rise to her cheeks. The redhead shrugged before Ms. Bustier complimented her about her generous offer.

* * *

It was lunch time and Chloe and Sabrina walked around the courtyard. She wanted to find Adrien and show him her ideas for the festival. Sabrina had spotted him next to Marinette. Surprisingly, she didn’t feel angry seeing them together. She thought back about a certain redhead boy before shaking her head. What was up with her?

As they got closer, Chloe’s blue eyes narrowed as she realized that Marinette was starting to get upset about whatever Adrien was saying, but he didn’t notice. Before she knew it, she began walking faster.

“Adrikins!” Chloe said called out as it grabbed the duo’s attention.

“Hey Chloe!” Adrien greeted. The blonde forced a smile in response as she fixed a golden bee comb in her hair. 

“You must check out the ideas I have for the decorations! Since you and I will help finance this festival, I will need your opinions. Come!” Chloe grabbed Adrien’s hand and pulled him away from the bench. She soon wrapped her arms around right arm and began to walk and carry on her conversation as Sabrina stayed back a bit.

“What were you and Dupain-Cheng talking about?” Chloe asked. 

“Just about our future after we graduate. I’m really glad I came to this school. I made wonderful friends, especially Nino, Alya, and Marinette. They’re the greatest.” 

“Of course, I’m the best right?!” Chloe said as she tried to stop from frowning. Why would that conversation make Marinette upset?

Adrien just laughed as he patted her head. “The best. You seem to be in better spirits too, ever since you got this clip.”

Chloe blushed as she unconsciously touched the clip in her head. An image of Marinette’s sad face entered her mind. “Actually, Dupain-Cheng made it for me.” Chloe revealed.

“I know.” Adrien said with a smile. “She came up to me and asked for help. I’m glad the two of you are trying to get along.”

“She did?” Chloe’s eyes widened. Sabrina finally caught up to them as they walked around the campus. 

“Hey Adrien!” A voice called out. The trio turned around to see Lila walking over. “I heard you take Chinese lessons! I was wondering if you could help tutor me. I’ve about to make a trip to China to help the needy out there and I want to be able to speak to them in their language.”

“That’s very nice of you!” Adrien said warily. Chloe rolled her eyes. Ridiculous. Here goes Lie-la and her ridiculous stories.

“Well Adrien is going to be very busy!” Chloe spoke up. “We have to help the class with the festival. That’s already adding to Adrien’s already busy schedule. He has his fencing tournament coming up as well so he has to practice. You could always just hire a tutor to help you.”

“That’s true!” Adrien added. “I do have people I can recommend you to tutor you though!”

“T-Thank you.” Lila grumbled. “I’ll catch you later then.”

As Lila walked away, Adrien sighed before he realized who he was with.

“I still don’t understand why she still has to lie?” Sabrina frowned.

“Well, people did believe her stories. That’s all she’s good at.” Chloe scoffed. “Luckily for her, Marinette was able to get the class to forgive her. I wouldn’t have done that!” 

“Marinette is amazing…” Adrien said softly as Chloe took the moment to really look at him. His green eyes shone a bit more brightly and his smile seemed to be very genuine. Could it be that her childhood friend was in love with Marinette? She didn’t feel so upset about it for some reason. 

She found out about Marinette’s crush a while back during a premiere of a movie that Adrien had done the voice acting for. That Japanese fencing girl was all over him that day and her and Marinette teamed up to try and stop them. 

“Chloe?” Chloe blinked as she realized that they finally made it to the classroom. Everyone except for Marinette and Nino were there. They were looking at a notebook that Alya quickly took from Nathaniel and put it in her bag. When their last two classmates showed up, Alya sneaked closer to Marinette’s bag and placed the book in their. 

Suspicious. Utterly Suspicious.

Chloe shifted her eyes over to Marinette. She seemed to be in better spirits than she had been during lunch. She looked back over to Alya to see that she was caught staring. Chloe felt her cheeks blush as she looked away.

* * *

Chloe sighed as she looked around the table. It was after school and the class was still in the building. She had offered to help with the decorations so she was stuck in the art room with Rose, Juleka, Ivan, Mylene, and Nathanael. Why did she agree to be in charge of decor again? And Sabrina had the audacity to leave her to help Max out with something. The couples in the room had gone off and worked on different projects leaving her with the red-head. It left her thinking about what she saw in the classroom earlier after lunch.

Nathanael looked up as he noticed the Mayor’s daughter staring at him longer than normal. “Is there something you want?”

“What’s up with the notebook earlier in class?” Chloe asked so casually that Nathanael had dropped his book that he was drawing on. Chloe went to help pick it up as she spotted a page that caused her to blush. 

It was a drawing of her staring off into the distance. It seemed to be in the classroom. She had her right hand under her chin. Nathanael grabbed the notebook back and clinging on to it tightly. He closed his eyes waiting for her to make fun of him like she did years ago in class for that comic he made. What he heard next surprised him.

“Can I see more?” Chloe asked. Nathanael opened his eyes in shock. 

“What? I’m not always bitchy you know!” 

Sensing that Chloe was being serious, he slowly passed the notebook back to her. Chloe opened the book and saw the rest of their classmates in different settings. Some were drawn in groups. She saw pictures of her and Sabrina laughing together. Pictures of the couples in the class. Pictures of Adrien and Marinette. There were pictures of some other guy in a red hoodie that she didn’t know. As she continued to flip the page, she noticed that someone was missing.

“Where are you?” Chloe asked. 

“I’m not that interesting to draw.” Nathanael chuckled softly.

Chloe rolled her eyes as she flipped to a blank page and grabbed a couple of the colored pencils from the table. She immediately began to draw something. 

“W-Wait. What are you doing?” Nathanael asked alarmed.

“Quiet! Don’t distract me.” Chloe ordered as she continued to draw. After a couple of minutes, Chloe smiled proudly at her work before turning it around to show her class-mate. “Now your sketchbook is complete.” 

It was a picture of him. He had a black beret on his head. He wore a white long sleeve shirt and black jeans to go with it. He was holding a painter’s pallet in on hand and a brush in the other. Nathanael almost laughed out loud at how bad the drawing was compared to his work. It was like a child had drawn it. It was adorable really. He went to admire the sketchbook a bit more before closing it and smiling.

“Thank you Chloe.” Chloe blushed again as she pouted and looked away.

“Ridiculous.” Chloe said. “Well now you have to tell me what is going on with the notebook from earlier.” She said regaining her cool. 

“I can’t.” Nathanael shook his head. “It's not my place to say.”

“Oh no worries.” Chloe smirked as she began to examine her nails. “I’ll just tell Dupain-Cheng what I saw earlier today. I wonder what she’ll say when she finds out that you had her notebook and didn’t give it to her in the first place.” 

Nathanael’s mouth dropped before sighing in defeat. He began to tell Chloe just exactly what was going on. At the end of his tale, Chloe shook her head.

“Dupain-Cheng giving up her crush on Adrien? As if! That’s like saying Lila is gonna start telling the truth. She’s too stubborn to give up.”

“If I didn’t know you, I’d say that sounded like a compliment.” 

“Whatever. Like Adrien would fall for someone like her when he has me.” Chloe said getting up. “I’m going.”

As she walked out of the classroom, she saw Adrien coming out of his fencing class. He was talking to that Japanese fencing partner of his.

“Adrikins!” Chloe called out as she ran up to the pair. She wrapped her arms around Adrien’s arm.

“Hey Chloe!” Adrien smiled. “You’re at school late.”

“Yeah. I’m in charge of decor remember!” Chloe said. “Besides, we need to talk to our parents about the budget. Why don’t you come over and we can talk to daddy.” 

“Sure, Chloe. Let me just check in with Natalie first.” Adrien said before turning to the Japanese girl next to him. “Sorry Kagami. Our class is throwing a festival.”

“It’s alright. I will see you next practice. You did well today.” Kagami complimented.

“I’m trying to be a worthy opponent for you.” Adrien said with a smile that caused Kagami to blush before she walked off. Adrien turned around to see Chloe pouting at him.

“What?” Adrien asked as he quickly texted Natalie.

“Do you always flirt with her?” Chloe frowned.

“Flirt? We’re just friends.” 

“Oh please. Anyone with eyes can tell that she likes you!” 

“Did it really come off that way?”

Chloe sighed. “You’re hopeless. You better set her straight so you’re not accidentally stringing her along.”

“She’s my friend that’s all.” Adrien argued. “Besides, we already talked about it.”

“Oh really?”

“She knows I don’t like her like that.” 

Chloe flipped her ponytail behind her. “If you say so. Then you’re free to be my date for the festival, right?”

Adrien’s eyes widened. “Date?”

“Yes, Adrikins. There’s going to be dancing and I’ll need a partner.”

“Uh, sure Chloe. Why not. As friends.” 

“Of course.” 

* * *

**May 5**

Marinette sighed as it was the end of the week. Friday had finally come which meant it was time for auditions after school. Alya was in charge of the auditions in the courtyard and had the boys help set up a little area for auditions. They had gone through 10 acts already. One of them being Nino DJing.

“Why couldn’t we just have Jagged Stone perform?” Marinette heard Chloe complain as the blond rested her head on the table.

“He’s on a tour right now.” Adrien explained. Adrien offered to be one of the judges along with her and Alya. He had extended the invite to Chloe and Marinette didn’t have the heart to say no. He sat between her and Chloe.

“We just have one act left and then we can call it a day.” Marinette said. Looking next on the list was Kitty Section. She couldn’t help but feel excited to see her friends perform. She watched as Juleka and Ivan were getting their instruments ready as Rose was going over the lyrics in front of her. Marinette couldn’t help but wonder where the fourth member of Kitty Section was.

“Ma-Ma-Marinette…” A cool voice said as she felt two arms rested on top of her head. Tilting her head up, she was greeted with Luka smiling at her. She couldn’t help but feel her face get warm. He had just confessed to her not too long ago and she hadn't really gave him an answer yet. Thankfully, he hadn't been pushing her.

“Hey Luka!” Adrien greeted as the two bumped fists. “It’s been a while. The band is up when you’re ready.”

“Too bad you couldn’t perform with us.” Luka frowned.

“You know how my father is.” Adrien said with a shrug.

Luka only nodded as he greeted Alya and Chloe as he headed to his band and began to play “I Love Unicorns.” After a couple minutes, the band was approved to play at the festival.

“You know, Luka should do a solo too!” Juleka mumbled as Rose peaked up at the idea.

“Yes! You’ve been working on a new song haven’t you? You can perform it at the festival.”

“Oh I don’t know…” Luka said rubbing the back of his neck as he looked back up at the judge's table to see Marinette looking at him in earnest. He then looked over to his sister before sighing. “Alright.”

Everyone watched as Luka got back on stage and began to play a few notes while Rose rushed to get the mic up to him. 

_ “Tell her a story _

_ Tell her the honest truth _

_ You treat her better _

_ Make sure to see it through _

_ “Don't be just everything she wants _

_ Be everything she needs” _

Everyone in the courtyard paused at the soothing voice of Luka. Alya nudged Marinette on her side causing her to bump into Adrien. Adrien turned to look down and saw that Marinette’s attention was still on Luka. 

_ “When she says she loves you _

_ Tell her you love her too” _

Adrien couldn’t help but watched as Marinette’s cheeks flushed a pretty pink as her gaze on Luka was soft and admiring. Looking back up at Luka, he could see the guitarist looking at Marinette and no one else. For some reason, that gave him a weird feeling. He tried to focus back on the performance but he couldn’t ignore Marinette beside him.

_ “Give her a reason _

_ Reason to love all you do _

_ She'll tell you secrets _

_ You'll tell her secrets too _

_ She'll tell you all her hopes and dreams _

_ You'll tell them too _

_ When she says she loves you _

_ Tell her you love her too” _

Adrien felt Marinette bump into her again thanks to Alya’s enthusiasm but this time, Marinette looked up at him. He took in the full view of her face as she stared at him with her big bluebell eyes.

“Oh s-sorry!” Marinette said as she placed a hand on Alya to stop her from moving. “Bump Alya me. I- mean, Alya bumped me.”

Adrien could tell she was about to go into another one of her moments. He softly placed a hand on top of hers as Marinette look dumbly down at their joint hands before looking back at him. “It’s okay Marinette. No worries. “He smiled at her before giving Luka his attention back. Luka had closed his eyes at this moment as he continued to sing.

_ “But please don't you run away run away _

_ When you get tired _

_ 'Cause this will slip away slip away _

_ And start a fire _

_ That can never be put out _

_ Oh hurry time is running out _

_ So please don't you run away run away _

_ Before you say _

_ You love her.” _

Luka played a few more notes before it got quiet. Before he knew it, everyone began to applaud at his performance. Adrien and Marinette stood up before they realized that their hands were still connected. Marinette quickly took her hand back. Giving him a sheepish smile, she rushed over to Luka to talk to him. Adrien and Chloe slowly followed, leaving their things at the table.

“That was amazing!” Rose cheered as Juleka just gave her brother a proud smile. Ivan just came up to him and patted his shoulder. 

“That was good, I guess.” Chloe said off-handedly. “You can play at the festival.”

“Yeah, if you do, we’re going to have to hire bodyguards to protect you from all the girls.” Alya teased walking up to them. “You could literally sing the pants off them.”

“ALYA!” Marinette turned around to scold her best friend.

Luka just chuckled as he began to put his guitar away. “Well I’m glad I’d be able to play for you all. This is a big time in your life. I want to make sure it turns out perfect.”

Adrien’s phone soon went off, catching everyone’s attention. The model looked down at his phone and sighed. “It’s Natalie. I gotta go now. Awesome work everyone!” 

“We’ll see you next week then!” Alya called out. “Make sure you grab your stuff and not forget anything.” Adrien saw a mischievous smile on his friend’s face.

“Uh, will do!” Adrien nodded as he went to grab his bag and headed down to the front of the school where he saw Gorilla opening the door to the car for him. Getting into the car, he sighed as he placed his bag to the left of him. A piece of paper folded up fell from the bag as Adrien went to catch it.

“What’s this?”

Opening up the letter, he realized it was another post like the previous notes he received. Who was leaving these notes for him? He began to read the post.

.

.

.

**April 3**

_ He confessed his love to me. _

_ “You are an extraordinary girl. Clear as a music note, sincere as a melody. _

_ You have been the song I hear in my head since we first met.” _

_ A girl would give anything to hear those words. _

_ The only problem is that he isn’t you. _

_ You’re the song my heart is beating to. _

_ With love, Ladybug _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Adrien couldn’t help but bring the letter to his face as his face felt flushed. Ladybug was leaving these letters for him because she was in love with him. This must have been her way of telling him without saying it to his face.

When they finally arrived home, Adrien quickly ran up to his room and towards his desk where the other notes laid. He pulled out a valentine card he had gotten a while back. Opening the letter, he realized that the valentine card had the same hand-writing as these notes. He looked back at the letter and read it aloud.

_ “Your hair shines like the sun _

_ Your eyes are gorgeous green, _

_ I look at you and wonder _

_ Your innermost thoughts and dreams. _

_ Yes, your Valentine I will be, _

_ Our love will be so true, _

_ Together for eternity, _

_ My heart belongs to you” _

The blond smiled as he placed the letters back in their box for safe-keeping. He soon pulled out his own notebook and opened up to a blank page.

.

.

.

**May 5**

_ I’ve been finding notes on my desk and bag for the past couple days. I finally realized Ladybug has been the same person that has written this valentine card a while back. I can’t help but want to find out who Ladybug is. Her words leave me feeling warm. There’s only a few months left before school ends for us. This person is in my class. I know we’re not supposed to know who’s who but she’s purposely leaving these notes for me to find. Who knows how this will turn out but you know what they say... _

_ Curiosity killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. _

_ Chat Noir _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song Luka is singing for his audition is "Tell Her You Love Her" By Echosmith


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the third year at Collège Françoise Dupont and graduation is just around the corner. For a creative writing project, Ms. Bustier gives the students notebooks. Marinette decides to write her thoughts and feelings in hers. What happens when the other students get their hands on it? They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well, it took a notebook and a class to come together and help Adrien Agreste realize he was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. (No power au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miraculous Ladybug © Thomas Astruc

**These Words**

**.**

**.**

.

**May 8**

It was another Monday at school. Marinette was trying to enjoy her lunch at the cafeteria with the girls as she planned out for the festival. The event was going to be next Friday! However, she was getting distracted with Alix slurping her juice loudly.

“Are you okay?” Marinette finally asked.

“I’m fine.” Alix said quickly.

Looking up, Marinette saw Alya hint at her to look to the right. There was Kim talking to Odine at another table. From this angle, it looked like the two were flirting, if Odine’s red cheeks were to give you a hint. Remembering what she read in Alya’s journal, she placed a hand on the short girl’s arm.

“Is it Kim?” Mylene asked softly. The question caused Alix to turn pink as she choked on her drink.

“O-Of course not.” 

A couple minutes later, someone ran into the cafeteria. “Kim!” Aurore waved as she came up to Kim and Odine. “Would you be my date to the festival next week?” Everyone in the cafeteria got quiet as the attention fell to the tall jock. Alix had almost gave herself a whiplash with how fast she turned her head to look at her friend. 

“I’m sorry. I already have a date in mind.” Kim said with a smile. Alix could have sworn that Kim looked at her when he said it. 

“Who?” The blond asked but she didn’t seem to heartbroken about it.

“That would be me.” Odine said as she walked closer to Kim. “He just asked me before you came over.” People from the swim team cheered as Kim blushed.

Marinette’s heart dropped as she looked back at Alix. Her pink-haired friend quickly got up to her feet.

“Alix…” Rose began to call out. 

“I said I’m fine.” Alix said as she gathered her things. “I forgot I had a piece to work on in the art room. I’ll see you all in class.” Alix left the cafeteria before anyone could stop her. 

“Did something happen between them?” Mylene asked.

“Eh…” Alya began to speak. “I think Alix realized she had feelings for him and doesn’t know how to handle it. It’s always been fun and games between them. But they accidentally kissed not too long ago and things have been strange between them since.”

Juleka frowned. “Maybe she was hoping Kim was going to ask her to the festival.”

The girls sighed. Of course, it was their last year and emotions were high. 

“Do you guys have dates?” Marinette asked. She assumed Mylene and Alya were going to go with Ivan and Nino.

“I’m going with Juleka!” Rose beamed as she wrapped her arms around her dark haired girl. Juleka couldn’t help but blush.

“Nino asked me this morning.” Alya said with a smile. “Aaaaaaaand, we’re officially together!” 

“Oh my goodness, Alya!” Marinette cheered as she went to hug her friend. The others joined in on the hug. “Finally!” 

“What about you, girl?” Alya smirked. “When are you going to ask Buttercup?” 

The old codename for when the girls had their Operation: Secret Garden caused Marinette to blush.

“You should ask him!” Rose peaked up. 

“I-I don’t know…”Marinette began to pout.

“Here.” Alya said as she signaled to Nino and Adrien to come over to their table.

“Alya!” Marinette hissed as she got up to leave but bumped into something hard. Looking up, she realized that she bumped into Adrien’s chest.

“Hey girls!” Adrien greeted as Nino went to kiss Alya on the cheek. “What’s up?”

“We’re trying to see who would go to the festival with Marinette. She doesn’t have a date yet!” Rose hinted.

“Oh dude, you can go with Marinette, right?” Nino suggested as he patted the blond on his back.

“I would but I already have a date to the festival.” Adrien admitted. 

“Y-You do?” Alya said worriedly before looking at her best friend. 

“That’s good.” Marinette said with a smile. She soon turned her back to the guys as she faced her female friends. Everyone could see that girl was on the verge of tears. “I-I should go find Alix and see if she’s okay. I’ll see you all in class.” 

Before anyone could get a word out, Marinette sprinted out of the room.

“Is she okay?” Adrien asked with a frown. “What happened with Alix?”

“She’ll be fine. They both will.” Alya shook her head before asking her next question. “Who are you going with?”

“Yeah dude, I didn’t know you had a date already.” Nino pouted. “You asked Kagami?”

The blond raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “I’m going with Chloe. Just as friends though.” Adrien said. 

“I see.” Alya answered as she felt her phone vibrate. Looking down, it was from the group chat with the girls. Rose asked for a mandatory video-chat after school.

* * *

Alix growled as the spray can she was using ran out. She tossed it to the side as she went to where her stuff was. Hanging on her backpack was a blue themed bunny keychain that Kim had won for her at an arcade a year ago. He said it reminded him of her. Opening up her bag, the notebook from Ms. Bustier greeted her. Looking around the classroom, the pinkette grabbed a pen and opened the notebook to write.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

_ Bunnix _

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class _

.

.

.

** _May 8_ **

_ Boys suck. _

_ Especially _ <strike> ** _Lê Chiến Kim_ ** </strike>

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Closing her book, Alix looked back at her backpack and ripped the keychain off and threw it out the art room. 

“Alix?” A soft voice called out. The pink-haired girl looked up to see Marinette walking into the room with the keychain that she had thrown just seconds ago. 

“What?” Alix snapped before her eyes widened. Marinette’s eyes were red as if she was just crying. “Are you okay?”

“Are you?” Marinette asked as she took a seat next to her friend.

“No.” Alix answered truthfully.

“You seemed to have dropped something important to you.” Marinette said as she handed the short girl back her keychain. Alix looked at it as she brought it to her chest. A teardrop rolled down her cheek before she felt herself being pulled into Marinette’s comforting hug.

“Oh, Alix…”

“Ugh!” Alix wiped her tears away, upset that she was getting so emotional. She was supposed to be the tough one in the group. She tried to change the focus to her friend. “What happened to you?”

“Never mind me.” Marinette replied as she began to rub the shorter girl’s back. “You’re the one crying right now.”

“I think I’m in love with that idiot.” Alix laughed pitifully. “But he doesn’t see me that way. He has Odine and he’s going to the festival with her. He wouldn’t think of me like that. Compared to Odine and Aurore, I’m just one of the guys to him. I’m not girly like them.”

“Well then it’s his loss.” Marinette said as if it was a fact. Silence came between them before Marinette spoke up again. “Adrien is going to the festival with someone else.” 

“Seriously?” Alix looked at her in disbelief. “Why don’t you just ask Juleka’s brother to be your date?” 

Marinette looked at her in surprise before she smirked. “And why would I ask him when I have a better person to go with, if she doesn’t mind. I’ll even make her a dress to show Kim what he’s missing.”

Alix looked up at her friend in confusion before she realized what she meant. “Ah!” She grinned as she placed her hands on her hips. “I guess there is an awesome pink-haired girl that’s better than those boys, isn’t there.”

The girls laughed as they got up to get ready for their next class. Before they left the art room, Alix grabbed the taller girl’s arm.

“Hey Marinette?”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks. For coming to check up on me. You’re amazing.” Alix said softly. It was the truth. She was going to do everything in her power to help Adrien realize Marinette’s feelings even if it meant she had to punch the model in the face. Pulling out her phone, Alix saw the group chat with the girls. Rose was asking for a video-chat after school. 

* * *

Juleka and Rose went to the boat house right after school to hang out before everyone video chatted each other. Alya had to go home to babysit her sisters. Marinette had to go to the fabric store to get some things for a dress she was going to make for the festival. Alix went to help Nathaniel to get more art supplies. Mylene wanted to go on a quick date with Ivan. 

As the two walked down to where Juleka’s room was, they heard the faint strumming of Luka’s guitar. It seemed like her brother was home as well. Opening the door, Luka looked up and stop his playing.

“Hey Jules! Rose” Luka greeted.

“Hey Luka! Sorry to disturb your playing.” Rose said as she practically jumped onto Juleka’s bed and pulled out a notebook. Juleka joined her on the bed and did the same.

“What’s with the notebooks?” Luka asked as he continued to play.

“It’s our last project of the year with Ms. Bustier.” Juleka answered.

“Ooh, working on a new song?” Rose asked as she left her notebook open. Juleka couldn’t help but look down at Rose’s.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

_ Princess Fragrance _

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class _

.

.

.

** _May 8_ **

_ Two of my friends were heartbroken this afternoon. _

_ I wish they would be able to find love. _

_ Love seems so amazing but scary. _

_ I’m not sure if I should tell the person that I’m in love with them. _

_ I’m scared they may not see me that way. _

.

.

.

Juleka couldn’t help but frown as she read the post before looking down at her own notebook. Of course Rose was in love with someone. She knew she was still in contact with Prince Ali after all this time. She wondered if it was Prince Ali that Rose wrote about. 

A loud tune began to play from Juleka’s laptop as the video chat opened up. The girls immediately ran to the laptop as Luka got up saying he was going to get them some refreshments. As they clicked to join, they noticed that everyone but Marinette was on the call.

“Where’s Marinette?” Mylene asked.

“She said she was home.” Alya frowned. “Let me text her.”

After a few minutes, another window opened up revealing Marinette who was trying to control her tears.. 

“Marinette!!” The girls exclaimed in sync as they took in her red-rimmed eyes.

“Girl, what happened?” Alya asked as she got up from her seat. 

“It’s nothing…” Marinette muttered.

“It’s not nothing!” Alix all but shouted. “You’re crying.”

“Was it Adrien again?” Rose asked remembering she was crying earlier today because of him.

At the sound of his name, Marinette broke down crying once more.

“I thought you went to get some fabric?” Mylene said slowly testing the waters. 

Marinette tried to calm herself as she wiped her tears away. “I-I was heading to the fabric store and overheard Kagami confessing to Adrien after school.”

The girls gasped. They knew that Adrien’s fencing partner was in love with Adrien but had also become friends with Marinette the past couple years. Of course Adrien didn’t belong to anyone but they were surprised that Kagami had finally took her chance to confess.

“Did Adrien agree?” Juleka asked.

“No.” Marinette answered. “He told her that there was someone who had caught his attention. Kagami then asked if it was me.” She didn’t have to clarify what Adrien’s answer was due to her tears.

“Oh Marinette…” Rose said slowly, not wanting to upset her any more.

“I-I thought I could do this…” Marinette sighed as she went to hug herself as she cried harder. “I thought it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t return my feelings. I thought being his friend was enough. It’s too painful to be in love with him.”

The girls sat in silence as Marinette’s tears echoed through their speakers. In their minds, her post about giving up resurfaced. Was their plan worth Marinette’s tears?

“Did he say who it was?” Alix asked, breaking the silence. Marinette shook her head as she covered her face with her hands, trying to slow down her breathing. 

The sound of glass clinking captured Juleka’s attention as she turned her head to the right to see her brother placing down the drinks on the table by the door. Luka’s face was hard to read as he too was staring at her laptop. He quickly went to his bed to fetch his jacket and put it on.

“Where are you going?” Juleka asked.

“I’m going to get some fresh air. I’ll be back later.” The older boy said as he grabbed his guitar and left the room. 

Juleka looked down as she stared at her hands. Her eyes widened soon after. Her brother was in love with Marinette as well. Knowing her brother, he would rush over to Marinette’s side. 

Quickly texting the girls except Marinette not to hang up after the call, Juleka told the crying girl that they would give her some time and if she wanted to talk again to give them a call. Marinette nodded as she thanked her friends before signing off.

“What gives?” Alix frowned. “Why did you want Marinette to sign off?”

“Luka!” Juleka muttered.

“Huh?” Mylene tilted her head.

“My brother.” Juleka spoke louder. “He walked in and saw Marinette crying and then left the house. He’s heading to her right now.”

“How romantic!” Rose swooned

“WHAT?!” Alya exclaimed. “Rose, we’re still team Adrinette remember?”

Juleka frowned, feeling conflicted. It was true that Marinette was in love with Adrien and they’ve been planning to get them together but with Luka still in the ring, she couldn’t help but have that loyalty to her brother.

Rose looked up at the dark-haired girl next to her in worry. Placing a hand on her shoulder, she called out. “Juleka?”

“I’m fine.” Juleka gave her friend a smile as she held the smaller girl’s hand and squeezed it for comfort. Rose returned the smile as they focused back on the chat.

“I like Luka with Marinette too.” Mylene frowned. “But we know that Adrien has feelings for Marinette even if he doesn’t realize it. She’s the only girl he allows that close to him. Remember when we went on that train trip to London? Marinette fell asleep on him but he didn’t have to get all cozy and cuddle with her too unless he liked her. It’s there.”

“Alya, message Nino and have him question Adrien about this girl he’s interested in.” Alix ordered.

“Yeah…” Alya said in a pensive mood. She looked at her desk at the group picture of her, Nino, Adrien, and Marinette. The girls were in the middle with Nino and Adrien on the sides. Nino held her close while she was taking the selfie. Marinette had her hands on her face as she looked up at Adrien with love in her eyes. Adrien leaned his head on Marinette’s with his arm around her shoulders. How could he not be in love with her best friend? She would bet on her career as a future journalist.

“We’re gonna look for Luka.” Juleka announced as she and Rose hung up on the call.

* * *

Marinette sighed as she signed out of the video chat with the girls. She didn’t want to cry in front of them like that. She headed to the bathroom to freshen up her face. Wiping away more of the tears from her cheeks, her phone vibrated signaling that she got a text. Opening her phone, she saw that it was from Kagami. 

_ ‘I lost.’ _

She remembered that Kagami was rejected earlier. The girl must have been hurting too and here she was thinking about herself. She messaged the Japanese girl back to say that if she wanted to talk, they could meet up. Kagami responded that she would like that and they could talk tomorrow if possible. Putting the phone in her bag, she went down to the bakery where her parents were still working.

“Marinette?” Sabine called out. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, Maman. I’m just going for a walk.” Marinette explained as she went out the door. 

“It’s getting dark, so don’t stay out too late. You have school tomorrow.” Tom reminded her with a smile. Marinette nodded as she began to walk and clear her head. Before she knew it, she found herself in front of Canal Saint Martin. She sighed as she looked around to see couples hanging around with ice cream from Andre’s. She could feel her eyes watering again.

“Marinette!” A voice called out. She looked up at the direction of the voice and was surprised to see who it was.

“Luka?” Her bluebell eyes widened at the sudden appearance of Juleka’s brother. He was trying to hide it but she could tell he was discreetly catching his breath. Did he run here? “What are you doing here?”

“I was just out for a walk. Wanna join me for some ice cream?” He asked as he came up to her. Marinette nodded as the two walked up to Andre’s cart.

“Hello Andre!” Marinette said as she gave him a wave.

“Hey pretty Marinette!” Andre replied as the large man patted Marinette on the shoulders. “Can I offer you two some ice cream, on the house?”

“Yes please!” Luka smiled as Andre turned to look at him before going to his cart and making the first scoop. “For you young man! Pink Lemonade! Blackberry for her hair! And blueberry ice cream, just like her sky-blue stare!”

Luka stared at his ice cream before looking at Marinette who went up to get her ice cream. He tried to control his blush when he realized who exactly his ice cream represented.

“And for my dear Marinette!” Andre said. “Banana like his hair, peach pink like his lips, and mint like his eyes.” 

Marinette tried to keep a smile on her face for Andre as she took the cone from him. She quickly thanked him as she sat down at the bench and tried to keep the tears at bay. Of course her ice cream represented Adrien. It was like the universe was trying to rub in the truth to her face. 

“Adrien Agreste…” Luka spoke as he sat down next to her. Marinette quickly wiped her tears as she brought her ice cream closer to her. “He’s still the song your heart sings for.” 

“Yeah…” Marinette choked. She felt a bit uncomfortable as she remembered that Luka had confessed to her not too long ago and they hadn’t talked about it since.

Luka sighed as he placed an arm around Marinette and brought her close to his chest, covering her face from the people passing by. “What happened?”

A couple minutes passed as Marinette tried to calm down. Resting her head on his chest, she took a deep breath before she spoke.

“Adrien is interested in someone. A mutual friend of ours confessed to him and was turned down. She asked if it was me but he said I was just a friend.” Marinette shared as she felt her ice cream begin to melt down her hand. She slowly removed herself from Luka’s embrace and began to eat her ice cream. 

“Did you ever confront him about your feelings?” Luka asked as he handed her a napkin.

Marinette stayed quiet but she shook her head. 

“Maybe he said that to spare your friend’s feelings. He should hear your feelings from you and not someone else.”

Marinette let out a heartless chuckle. “If he rejected someone like Kagami, there’s no way I stood a chance. He’s a model and his dad’s a famous fashion designer. Kagami comes from a family of famous fencers. Me? I’m just a baker’s daught-aaaah!” 

She felt something cold touch her face. Marinette looked up at Luka is shock as he had pressed a bit of his ice cream on her cheek with his finger.

“Are you joking?” Luka frowned as he stood up. “Marinette, you know that isn’t true. You’re the most amazing person I have ever met. There’s no way Adrien isn’t in love with you. Don’t give up just yet. You won’t know until you face him honestly.”

“I-I’m scared.” Marinette answered as she looked back down at her ice cream. Luka stuck a hand out to help her up from the bench.

“Its okay to be scared to tell someone how you feel, but don’t miss a great opportunity. Doesn’t being scared let you know you’re onto something important? If you’re not scared, you’re not taking a chance.” Luka said as Marinette got to her feet. He squeezed her hand gently as he gave her a smile. “Besides…” 

Marinette’s eyes widened as Luka placed a kiss on the spot where he placed his ice cream on her cheek. Luka pulled back as Marinette grabbed her cheek and blushed.

“If Adrien is foolish enough to let you go when you confess to him properly, then I won’t be holding back for him any more.” He grinned.

The two soon heard footsteps coming towards them. Looking behind Marinette, Luka saw his sister and Rose.

“Marinette!” Rose said as she threw herself at her. Marinette moved her ice cream to make sure it didn’t fall on her friend.

“Juleka? Rose?”

“Hey.” Juleka said as she slowly made her way to them. “We decided to get some ice cream.”

“Oh? How funny, so did we.” Luka said, sounding unimpressed. The siblings looked at each other as Marinette went with Rose to get her ice cream.

“How much did you hear?” Luka asked.

Juleka sighed as she turned her attention back to Rose who in turn looked back and smiled. “You’re an idiot.”

“So are you, my dear sister.” Luka said fondly as he ruffled her hair. 

* * *

The Couffaine siblings made to their boat after walking Marinette and Rose home. Luka announced that he was going to play his guitar on the deck while their mother made dinner. Juleka entered her cabin and saw her notebook on her bed. Opening it up, she found a blank page and began to write.

.

.

.

_ This notebook belongs to _

_ Tigress _

_ If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s class. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

** _May 8_ **

_ Today I watched my brother put the happiness of the girl he loved before his. _

_ I don’t know if he’s the most idiotic person I know or the kindest. _

_ He was able to confess his feelings to her even though he knew she was in love with someone else. _ _ Despite that, she didn’t change how she acted towards him. If anything, it made their friendship stronger. I wonder what would happen if I was able to have the courage to confess like my brother did. _

_ The festival is next week. _

_ Maybe I’ll confess then. _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

Content with what she wrote, Juleka placed her notebook away as she opened the window in her room to view the Seine, the sun slowly setting behind it. The gentle sound of her brother playing on the deck warmed her heart. Moving to sit on her bed, she pulled out her guitar and began to play along.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just love Luka so you know I had to add my boy in this story. I ship both Adrinette and Lukanette. Maybe in the future, I'll write a Lukanette story but for now Adrinette all the way with this one!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is the third year at Collège Françoise Dupont and graduation is just around the corner. For a creative writing project, Ms. Bustier gives the students notebooks. Marinette decides to write her thoughts and feelings in hers. What happens when the other students get their hands on it? They say it takes a whole village to raise a child. Well, it took a notebook and a class to come together and help Adrien Agreste realize he was in love with Marinette Dupain-Cheng. (No power au)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Miraculous Ladybug © Thomas Astruc

**These Words**

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.

.

**May 9**

Adrien couldn’t help but rub the back of his neck as he felt stares on him. Everyone was waiting for class to start but it seemed like Ms. Bustier was giving Marinette a few more minutes to make it in before she started.

Slowly looking back, Adrien saw that Alya was staring at him with a calculating gaze. He quickly turned back around and nudged Nino with his elbow. “What’s up with Alya?” Adrien asked in a whisper.

“Don’t know dude. She’s been acting weird this morning with the girls. Did something happen yesterday?” Nino replied back as he nodded for Adrien to look at the other side of the classroom. Alix, Mylene, Rose, and Juleka all were staring at him and it began to make him nervous. 

“Nothing out of the ordinary.” Adrien answered. He soon looked at Chloe who was nonchalantly chewing gum before he remembered his conversation with her about Kagami.

His childhood friend had been right. His Chinese lessons were canceled yesterday so he had free time to hang out with Kagami as her mother had come over to do business with his father. Kagami had feelings for him even though he had told her a while back that he thought of her as only a friend. She still ended up confessing yesterday which made for an awkward conversation. She had even tried to kiss him and he had to push her away. Kagami came to thinking he was in love with Marinette when he told her he was interested in someone else. 

Of course, he denied it. Marinette was a very good friend to him. Probably one of the closest besides Nino, Alya, and Chloe. However, he knew those three were held in a different regard to his fashion friend. Nino, Alya, and Chloe were like the siblings he never had. Marinette was something different. Besides, given how auditions went last Friday, Luka seemed to still be interested in Marinette after all this time and it looked like Marinette was returning the feelings. For some odd reason, that didn’t sit well with him. 

Looking down at his hands, he played with the newest note he got from Ladybug this morning. He couldn’t help but smile as he thought about this little game he got himself involved with. He was looking forward to class each day to get the notes from Ladybug. He thought about the girls in the classroom. It obviously wasn’t Alya nor Mylene. Those two were in relationships. So it brought it down to Chloe, Lila, Rose, Juleka, Alix, Sabrina, and- 

Adrien was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard someone running through the door. Looking up, he saw Marinette. She was red in the face from running. She was a bit out of sorts from what he saw. Her hair was down again as she rushed to her seat. 

“Glad you could make it!” Ms. Bustier said amused as she finally began to start class.

“Are you okay?” Adrien heard Alya ask.

“Yeah, I stayed up late working on a dress for Alix. We decided to go to the festival together.” Marinette replied.

“I heard Luka took you out for ice cream yesterday. Care to share?” Alya teased.

“We ran into each other and grabbed ice cream. We then ran into Rose and Juleka and then they walked me home.”

“Boring.” Alya frowned. “There has to be more…”

Adrien couldn’t help but discreetly leaned back as he waited to see what Marinette would say. Luka was his friend and a nice guy and all but Marinette was his friend first. Of course he was being protective of her.

“He’s just a friend. You know that.” Marinette said.

“Girls. Is there something you want to share with the class?” Ms. Bustier asked.

“No.” Alya and Marinette answered in sync.

Adrien couldn’t help but release the breath he didn’t realize he was holding.

“You okay?” Nino asked.

“Yeah…” Adrien frowned. “I’m fine.”

* * *

Adrien sighed as Nino took a seat next to him during their lunch break. Alya and Marinette went to bring snacks from her parents’ bakery for them to share. So the boys were left waiting. Adrien took a sip of his water when Nino spoke.

“So, wanna tell me what happened yesterday with Kagami?” Nino asked.

Adrien began to choke as Nino patted his back to help him out. “How did you know about that?”

Nino raised an eyebrow. “Do you remember who my girlfriend is?” 

“Ugh, I didn’t think anyone saw what happened.” Adrien pouted.

Nino was about to open his mouth about Marinette but decided against it. He knew Alya wanted him to get some information on Adrien and this new contender for his dude’s heart. “So you rejected Kagami?”

“Yeah.” Adrien nodded. “I feel really bad about it. She’s a good friend of mine and I don’t want to lose her friendship because of it.”

“So is there someone else then?”

Adrien didn’t say anything but the blush that rose to his face gave his answer away.

“No way bro!” Nino said as he patted his blond friend on the back. “Who’s the lucky lady?”

As Nino waited for Adrien to say something, he watched as Adrien’s gaze fell on Marinette across the courtyard from them. Nathaniel sitting on a bench as Marinette was getting Alix’s size for something. Marinette would say something as Nathaniel would write it down in his notebook. Marinette was far too focused on her work to notice her crush staring at her.

“Dude…” Nino said.

As Adrien brought his gaze back to his best friend, he was startled to see the huge grin on his face. It resembled Alya whenever she had something planned.

“What?”

“Why didn’t you say it was Marinette?” Nino said elbowing him before place an arm around his shoulders. “I know Marinette like the back of my hand. We go way back!”

“Marinette? Why is everyone assuming I like Marinette?” Adrien tilted his head in confusion. 

“I-It’s not her?” Nino frowned as he calmed down from his excitement. How could it not be Marinette? He was staring at her like he was in love with her! “Well, who is it?”

Adrien couldn’t help but smile as he looked around before pulling out a familiar letter. Nino couldn’t help but inwardly groan as Adrien blushed. 

“Okay, so it's gonna sound really weird but I’ve been getting letters from this girl in our class, who’s going by the pen name Ladybug. Everything she writes sounds so miraculous.” Adrien said as he played with the paper before bringing it up to his chest. “With every letter she writes and leaves on my desk, I can’t help but fall for her more each time.”

If there was ever a time Nino wanted to bang his head on a wall until he couldn’t think anymore, it would be this moment. Why is this happening to him? He couldn’t just tell Adrien who Ladybug was without Marinette finding out that her friends were manipulating her and Adrien to get together. He knew this was a bad idea from the beginning and this is what he was trying to avoid. How much worse could this get?

“I want to find her Nino.” Adrien said with an innocent grin.

* * *

.

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This notebook belongs to

_ Carapace _

If found, please return to Ms. Bustier’s Class.

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**May 9**

_ Why was I cursed with having such an idiot as a best friend? _

_ How could my best friend be in love with a girl and not even know it to only fall with her under another name? Have I not suffered enough? Have I not been a good person? God why? _

_ . _

_ . _

_ . _

* * *

“WHAT!” Alya screamed as she shook Nino harshly by the shoulders.

After school, Alya and Nino had the rest of their classmates stay back as Adrien had a photo shoot to run to and Marinette had plans to meet up with Kagami. Chloe, Sabrina, and Lila were the only ones not invited to the meeting.

“That’s what he told me.” Nino said as he tried to separate from his girlfriend’s strong grip.

“Let me get this straight.” Alix said sticking her hands up in the air before bringing them down to pinch the bridge of her nose. “So model boy says he’s not in love with Marinette only to fall for her through the journal?” She soon slapped her hands on the desk. “ IS THIS A JOKE?”

“How dense is he?” Nathaniel muttered as he shook his head.

“He’s been home school before joining us at school right?” Rose spoke up in defense for her model friend. “Maybe he doesn’t understand social cues?”

“The girl couldn’t talk to him without stuttering and blushing until the beginning of this year.” Kim laughed. “How could you not pick it up?”

“We sabotaged Marinette and her chances with Adrien with herself.” Alya cried as she placed the back of her hand on her forehead. “The Adrinette ship sunk because of the Ladrien ship we created!”

“This can still work.” Max said grabbing everyone’s attention. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose before lacing his hands together and resting his chin on them. “Technically speaking, Adrien is already 50% in love with Marinette if he’s in love with Ladybug.”

“But what if he isn’t expecting the person behind the journal to be Marinette and gets disappointed?” Ivan frowned.

“Then he never really loved her then.” Juleka shrugged. Then maybe her brother can swoop in and heal her friend’s broken heart.

“I know what you’re thinking Juleka!” Alya cried dramatically as she pointed a finger at her. “You’re team Lukanette aren’t you!”

“Where are you coming up with these team names?” Nino sighed.

“I’m team whatever makes Marinette happy.” Juleka said as she sighed. “Look. We knew this crazy plan could backfire on us. We just have to wait it out and see what happens.”

“Juleka is right!!” Rose piped in. “Let’s wait and see what happens at the festival. We’ll just give Marinette and Adrien a moment to be together and let the magic do its thing. Oooh! How romantic! I can already imagine them dancing underneath the stars!”

“But how are we going to do that?” Mylene asked. “Chloe is Adrien’s date and I’m sure she won’t like the fact that we’d take Adrien away from her.”

Alix and Kim looked at each other before sharing a wicked grin. “Leave it to us!”

“I’ve been working closely with Chloe as well.” Nathaniel added. “Maybe I can try and talk to her.”

“She’d listen to you?” Alya asked skeptical.

“I think we’re becoming friends. Chloe isn’t as bad as she used to be.” The red head artist pouted, a blush slowly appearing on his face.

“Alright.” Nino sighed. “We’ll trust your judgement dude. If you think it’s safe to add Chloe and Sabrina to the plan, then we will.”

“What about Lila?” Rose asked. Despite everything that happened between her and the group, she was still part of their class.

Alya looked down to the ground as she rubbed her arm and said nothing. Nino grabbed onto his girlfriend’s free hand and gave it a squeeze. Lila was still a sore subject to Alya. She still hadn’t forgiven herself for how she treated Marinette. Was this why Alya was going out of her way with this plan?

“Forget that!” Alix said crossing her arms. “I still can’t trust her enough to not ruin this.”

“Let’s start of with Sabrina first, before we bring in Chloe and Lila.” Max offered.

With that, everyone seemed to agree. Alya sighed as she looked out the window in the classroom. Maybe her and Nino could drop by the bakery later to check up on Marinette.

* * *

Marinette rushed out of the school to see Kagami waiting for her at the bottom of the steps.

“Kagami!” Marinette called out as she waved at the Japanese girl.

“Marinette.” Kagami greeted as she waited for Marinette to meet her. “Thank you again for meeting up with me.”

“Of course. We’re friends.” Marinette smiled as she went to grab the other girl’s hand and squeezed it for comfort.

The girls decided to head back to Marinette’s place since they would have a place to talk in private about yesterday’s events. Kagami was also interested in what Marinette’s home looked like.

“Maman! Papa!” Marinette greeted as the two entered the bakery. Tom and Sabine were at the front helping out a customer.

“Welcome home!” Tom gave the small girl a hug. Her parents soon laid their gaze on the new person next to their daughter.

Kagami quickly bowed before introducing herself. “Hello. My name is Kagami Tsurugi. It’s been an honor being friends with you daughter and having me over, Mr. and Mrs. Dupain Cheng.

“Oh honey. Call me Sabine!” The older woman smiled before giving Kagami a hug. Kagami couldn’t help but blush.

“And you can call me Tom. Any friend of Marinette’s is always welcomed to our home.” Tom grinned as he placed an arm around his wife. “You girls go on up and make yourselves at home. One of us will bring in some snacks for you two.”

“Thank you!” Marinette smiled as she led Kagami up to her room.

“Your family is very warm and inviting!” Kagami said as they reached the stairs that led to her room.

“Yeah, they’re the best.” Marinette agreed as she opened the latch to her room and allowed Kagami to enter first.

“This is your room?” Kagami asked taking in all the pink and decorations.

Marinette blushed as she scratched the back of her head. “I know it’s small and all but i-”

“It’s perfect.” Kagami smiled. “It’s very Marinette.”

The girls laughed as Marinette showed her around. When they made it to her balcony, Kagami gasped as she view the city. “This is amazing!”

“Marinette!” Tom called out as the girls headed back down to Marinette’s room. “Here are some snacks and drinks for you and Kagami. Let us know if you need anything. We’ll be back down in the bakery.”

The girls took a moment to eat as Marinette caught Kagami staring at something. Following her gaze, she saw that Kagami was staring at the pictures of Adrien she had in her room.

Kagami brought a chocolate croissant up to her mouth but didn’t take a bite of it. It looked like she was about to cry.

“Oh Kagami…” Marinette cooed as she sat down next to her.

“You know. I knew he didn’t like me like that. But I had hoped that with the more time we spent with each other, he would realize that we’re meant to be. But it wasn’t enough. I wasn’t enough.” Kagami cried. “What hurts the most is that he couldn’t even tell me who it was that he was interested in. It was as if he made someone up on the spot. I’m just scared that I lost a friend now.”

“You know that isn’t true.” Marinette said.

“You and Adrien are the only friends I have.” Kagami confessed. “I put my feelings before yours and confessed knowing how you felt about him. I could have lost you too.”

Marinette’s heart hurt for the girl. She understood exactly how Kagami felt in terms of her feelings for Adrien. “You wouldn’t have lost me. I’m not gonna lie, it would have been hard to face you two if it worked out. But if you two made each other happy, who was I to stop that?”

“You’re too good for Adrien.” Kagami said softly as she wiped her tears away. 

“If he was able to refuse someone as amazing as you Kagami, how would someone like me stand a chance?” Marinette sighed as she brought her knees up to her chest. 

“You haven’t confessed to him yet?” Kagami asked as Marinette shook her head. 

“To be honest, I think I already knew the answer. He’s only thought of me as a friend. In fact, I’m going to let him go.” 

Kagami’s eyes widened in shock. “Why are you being a coward?”

“You heard him yesterday. You asked him yourself if it was me and he said no.”

“You heard our conversation?” Kagami narrowed her eyes as she finally took a bite of her croissant.

“I didn’t mean to.” Marinette quickly said as she waved her hands in front of her. “I was out getting supplies for a dress I’m making and ran to you guys.”

Kagami sighed as she shook her head. “You didn’t see his face Marinette.”

The blue eyed girl looked up. “What do you mean?”

Kagami was quiet as if contemplating whether or not she should share the information she had. “When I asked Adrien if it was you, he was blushing really hard. He didn’t even give me a reaction like that when I confessed.”

“You’re just saying that.” Marinette laughed as she tried to control her heart from beating so fast. 

“Why would I lie?” 

“It would be too good to be true.”

“Knowing Adrien like I do, I don’t think he even realizes that he likes you.” Kagami said. 

“Kagami…” Marinette began to say.

“If I had to lose Adrien to someone, I rather it be you. So don’t give up yet.”

“What about you?”

“I get to see two of my friends happy and if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be there for you as well as your other friends.” Kagami smiled as she gripped onto the other girl’s hand.

“Thank you.” Marinette smiled back as she squeezed back.

* * *

Alya and Nino had come by after school to check on Marinette when they overheard Marinette’s and Kagami’s conversation. Slowly walking back out of the bakery, the couple ran into Sabine.

“Alya dear? Were you and Nino able to meet up with Marinette?”

“Yeah, she was busy talking to Kagami so I didn’t want to interrupt. Can you tell Marinette I’ll give her a call later tonight?”

“Will do. You two take care and get home safely.” Sabine smiled before helping another customer.

“And take some pastries home to your parents for us!” Tom said as he handed each of them a bag.

Nino closed the door to the bakery behind them as they began to walk to Alya’s place. A smile graced Alya’s face. Kagami wasn’t a total Ice Queen like she thought. Maybe she could invite her into their plans.

* * *

The rest of the week passed by as the class was getting anxious for the festival next week. Students from other classrooms offered to help out making the tasks much easier. It was finally Friday and time to head home. Marinette had stayed after school to touch base with everyone on their parts for the festival. Now she had to run through the catering with her parents. Saying goodbye to Max and Sabrina in the classroom, she began to get lost in thought.

Marinette couldn’t help but feel like her class was up to something. Every time she’d walk up to them while they were huddled together, they would quickly panic or change the subject immediately. It happened when Adrien, Chloe, and Lila were around too. She didn’t like it one bit. When she brought it up to Alya, her best friend just shook her head and assured her that it was nothing. Marinette frowned. It was never nothing when it came to Alya.

Passing by Marc in the hallway on his search for Nathaniel, Marinette headed to the lockers to grab her things when spotted Lila writing in her notebook inside. Sure things with Lila and her lying settled down once she got caught, but she still didn’t like being around her if she didn’t have to. Since word got out to the school of Lila’s actions, people did their best to avoid her. Marinette did her best to make it normal in the classroom after that event. She was Class President after all. As she made it to her locker, she overheard some of the students from the other classes come up to Lila. Marinette realized they were two of the students from Ms. Mendeleiev’s homeroom class.

“No special meeting with Clara Nightingale or Jagged Stone?” A boy teased Lila. Lila’s green eyes looked up to see a boy wearing a dark plum shirt with black jeans. He had short brown hair and eyes.

“Leon, don’t you mean a charity?” A girl added as she laughed. She was wearing a hot pink long sleeve with a black skirt and tights. Long purple hair reached the middle of her back.

“Are you done?” Lila said keeping her composure. 

“Nino is a friend of mine and you hurt him with your lies.” Leon said as he got close to her face. “No one trusts you here. You’re lucky your class was nice enough to put up with you. They don’t have to deal with you after this school year.”

Lila grabbed her notebook tighter as she felt the stinging sensation in her eyes.

“That’s enough.” Marinette said standing in front of Lila. The Italian girl’s eyes widened as she stared at the back of Marinette blocking her from the other two students.

“After what you did to Marinette, you didn’t deserve to have her stick up for you.” The girl continued.

“Genevieve…” Marinette warned the other girl. 

“Why are you protecting her?” Genevieve frowned as she pushed back her long dark purple hair behind her. “She tried to get you expelled! She’s worse than Chloe.”

“And Chloe has been trying to change. She’s gotten better.” Marinette pointed out. “Leon, I appreciate what you guys are trying to do but bullying another student doesn’t make it right. The festival is next week and it's a time for the school to come together as one.”

“Hmph…” Genevieve said as she pulled Leon away. 

Marinette sighed as she closed her eyes to get her thoughts in order.

“Why?” A timid voice said. Marinette slowly looked over her shoulder to see Lila glaring at the ground, tears threatening to fall down her cheeks. “They’re right. Why are you protecting me after everything I did to you? I tried to ruin you! I tried to take your friends away from you.”

“Because you’re part of Ms. Bustier’s class. Regardless of everything, you’re still one of us and we gotta stick together.”

“What do you get out of this, Marinette?” Lila frowned as she got up and turned her glare at her. “Now that everyone hates me, you’re taking pity on me like a saint? So every can continue to say how sweet and kind you are? Give me a break! No one is that nice! They all want something from you!”

“I don’t know what your life was like in Italy, Lila. But you’d be surprised how many people will be nice to you and be your friend if you’re honest with them. You can’t build a friendship or a relationship on lies.”

“What would you know? You have it so easy.” Lila pouted. “Everyone loves you.”

“Because I’ve been friends with them for as long as I could remember.” Marinette pointed out. “It takes a while to build close relationships, but it’s easy to make friends. We can start right now.” 

Lila narrowed her eyes as she watched Marinette stick out her hand in an attempt to create a friendship with her. 

“Whatever…” Lila said as she walked away. Marinette watched the Italian girl walk away from view before sighing. 

“Wow Dupain-Cheng. I’m really beginning to think you’re a saint trying to make friends with the devil.” A voice called out. Looking around, Marinette was surprised to see Chloe leaning on the wall next to the entrance of the locker room.

“Chloe…” Marinette said wearily. “Don’t start please.”

“What? I’m just saying.” Chloe smirked as she began to walk away. “Anyways, I gotta find Nathaniel to go over last minute decor with him.”

Marinette raised an eye as she noticed the blush forming on the other girl’s cheek but said nothing. 

* * *

Chloe saw the art room in view as her pace quickened. Why was she so excited to see that redhead? Oh god, she could feel her face heat up as her heart skipped a beat. Chloe internally screamed as she crouched down to the ground. Was she developing feelings for the class artist?

Shaking her head, she quickly got up and composed herself. 

Okay Chloe. 

Take it one step at a time.

Step one: Come to terms with your feelings. 

She had feelings for Nathaniel Kurtzburg. 

Step two: Act normal around him if you want to keep your crush a secret.

With new determination, she took a deep breath and marched up to the art room and swung the door open.

“Hey Kurtzb-”Chloe entered the room and froze. She felt her blood run cold as she took in the scene in front of her. The door to the art room closed behind her from the momentum of her swing, catching the attention of the couple in front of her.

Nathaniel was standing in the middle of the room in a lip lock with a dark-haired person wearing a red hoodie. The person in red had their hand gripping onto Nathaniel’s shirt as if forcing the redhead towards them. Nathaniel had moved his hands to grip the person’s shoulder and slowly push them away as his teal eyes looked to the intruder at the door.

“C-Chloe?!” Nathaniel slowly said as if trying to figure out what was going on.

The other person looked over at her as well and Chloe couldn’t help but chuckle weakly. The person was in the drawings she saw in Nathaniel’s notebook. With messy black hair, jade green eyes, and somewhat feminine appearance, this person could have been the love child of Adrien and Marinette. Nathaniel began to take a step towards Chloe who backed away, her head tilted down to hide her expression.

“I-I was going to go over final details for the decor but it seems I caught you at a bad time.” Chloe quickly turned around to face the door. Her nose began to sting as she could feel her heart drop to her stomach. She wanted to get out of here. She needed to get out of here. She had a hand on the doorknob and was about to open the door when a hand caught her arm.

“Chloe! Wait!” Nathaniel called out, now standing right behind her.

“N-Nathaniel…” The other person called out, causing Chloe to shut her eyes. 

“Not now Marc.” Nathaniel said. “Chl-”

“Don’t worry.” Chloe cut him off as she turned around to give her classmate a fake smile. “I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”

With that, she quickly opened the door and ran before Nathaniel could say anything else. Chloe didn’t care where she went as long as it helped her get away from the pain. Before she knew it, she ran into someone who caught her from falling.

“Chloe?” The Paris heiress looked up to see Adrien looking at her in concern. He was in his fencing gear. He must have gotten out of practice. Kagami was next to him in her red gear. “What happened?”

“Adrikins!” Chloe bawled as she buried her face in his chest. Adrien didn’t say anything as he wrapped his arms around her, a hand slowly rubbing her head. Kagami made an announcement that she would go grab some water for them, leaving the two childhood friends alone in the courtyard.

Chloe tried to control her breathing as she focused on the warmth emitting from Adrien. Adrien was familiar. He calmed her down and made her feel safe. She must have been losing her mind to think that she had feelings for Nathaniel. What she was feeling for Adrien had to be love, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh, season 3 of MLB is over. What am I going to do until then? Thank you all for reading! 
> 
> For reference on the people I based Genevieve and Leon on, if you look at the class picture of Ms. Mendeleiev, Genevieve is the girl in the front row, second from the left. Leon is the boy in the second row, second from the right. I'm not sure they've been given names yet, so Genevieve and Leon it is lol. 
> 
> I do need help deciding about a couple of pairings. Please help by voting which couples you want to see listed below. Thank you!
> 
> Nathaniel/Marc  
Chloe/Nathaniel  
Chloe/Kagami  
Chloe/Alix  
Kim/Alix  
Max/Alix  
Kim/Odine  
Max/Sabrina


End file.
